Luck

by Scarlett Haven

  My dad looks at me, speaking in Russia. “Katerina, are you sure you and this guy are just friends?”

  How can I explain this to Dad? Tristan is only protective because he’s my bodyguard. But he can’t know that, because he doesn’t know that I know about him being a terrorist. I don’t want to put my mum’s life in danger.

  “Okay, okay. Fine. Tristan is my boyfriend,” I say, grabbing Tristan’s hand, hoping he goes along with it. We just spend the last few minutes convincing him that we’re just friends, so I hope this works.

  Tristan steps up beside me and pulls me closer. “What she said.”

  “I was going to tell you,” I tell Dad. “But I was scared you would be mad. Because we slept here. But I swear nothing happened. We haven’t even kissed yet.”

  Dad smiles. “Good. You’re too young for kissing.”

  “That’s what I keep telling her,” Tristan says.

  I stomp on his food.

  Seriously, Tristan. Just shut up.

  “Dad, what about Kazimir? What are you going to do to him once you catch him?” I ask.

  “I kill him for hurting my girl,” he answers.

  “How can you kill him?” I ask. “Won’t you go to jail?”

  “Katerina,” he says, switching to Russian. “I haven’t been very honest with you.”

  “What’s going on?” I ask, wondering if he’s about to tell me that he’s a Russian terrorist.

  “I’m not an engineer. I… work for the Russian government,” he says, but he looks at my forehead when he says it, so I know he’s lying. “Nobody knows, except Dimitri. And he only knows because he’s going to work with me after his marriage. Your mama can’t know. Kazimir is an agent who has gone rogue, so the group I work for has ordered me to kill him.”

  “Oh,” I say, leaning into Tristan.

  Tristan does not look happy right now.

  “Does your boyfriend understand Russian?” Dad asks.

  “Nemnogo,” I answer. “He’s learning.”

  “How much of that do you think he understood?” he asks, still choosing to speak Russia.

  “Maybe like ten percent,” I say, knowing it’s a lie. He probably understood a lot of it, but if I tell my dad that, he might kill him. I have to protect Tristan.

  Besides, Tristan already knows what my dad does.

  And it’s definitely not working for the government.

  Dad seems to like my response.

  “Can we switch to English?” Tristan asks. “I’m so confused right now.”

  Dad looks at him. “You protect my girl when I’m not here.”

  “I will, sir,” Tristan says. “With my life.”

  He’s not lying. He already has risked his own life to save me.

  Somehow, I feel safer knowing Tristan will always be around to save me.

  Maybe normal.

  I run through the woods, hoping Kazimir will come chase me.

  I know with absolute certainty that I can outrun him. And that it my goal. No matter what, don’t let him catch me.

  Tristan chases after me, staying close enough to intervene if he has to. And my dad is waiting for us by the lake. He has a gun. And I’m a little scared, because even though I know I’ll be safer with Kazimir dead, I don’t want to see him die.

  But that decision isn’t up to me.

  It’s up to my dad.

  Since he knows abut Kazimir holding me with a knife to my throat, I know he won’t back down. I’m his baby girl and he will do anything to protect me, even kill.

  Growing up, whenever kids at school would make fun of me, I never told anybody except Eduard. Because I knew Dimitri, Alik and my dad would do something bad to the other kid if I told them. But not Eduard. He would just walk me to class and if it persisted, he may give the kid a bloody nose. But that’s it.

  I did tell Dimitri and Alik once. The kid came to school the next day wearing a cast on his arm and using crutches. His face was swollen and he looked horrible. The kid was so scared of me that he actually switched schools after a few days. I felt bad for him. Sure, he shouldn’t have bullied me, but my brothers had no right to do that. I learned never to tell them anything after that.

  I don’t know why I’m thinking about this now, as I run through the woods, hoping to be chased by a bad guy.

  “Katerina, look out!” I hear Tristan yell behind me.

  I look to my side to see Kazimir running towards me. I pick up my pace, giving it everything I’ve got. At this pace, I know I can go about five miles before I get exhausted. Lets hope Kazimir can’t run as well as me.

  As I am running from Kazimir, I can’t help but feel… alive. For the first time since Eduard died, I feel like my life has a real purpose. Defeat Kazimir. Bring down the bad guy. It’s like I was born for this exact moment.

  Maybe I am supposed to be a spy.

  But maybe not a Russian spy.

  Maybe I can be an American spy. I can work with Tristan. That would be a lot of fun.

  I wonder if Damon wants to be a spy. I imagine us working together with Tristan to bring down bad guys. It’s a nice dream, though I know better than to plan for anything to happen. Life never turns out the way I expect or want it to.

  As I approach the lake, I do exactly what my dad told me to do. I run and dive in head first into the water. I swim down, holding my breath. I’m supposed to count to twenty and then swim to the top. That should give my dad plenty of time.

  Under the water, I can’t hear well. A few muffled voices.

  Then I see something.

  A spark.

  I know that a gun has went off, but I didn’t hear anything.

  Dad has a silencer on his gun. We’re on a school campus. We can’t exactly be shooting guns around here.

  Once I hit twenty, I swim to the top, letting my lungs fill with oxygen.

  Tristan is sitting at the side of the the rock, waiting to help me out of the water. I swim over to him and he pulls me up. I collapse on the ground beside him, breathing heavy. The sunlight peeks through the trees.

  “Are you all right?” Tristan asks me.

  “Yeah,” I answer. “A little cold.”

  He laughs. “Well, you did just go swimming and it’s forty degrees out here.”

  “The water was warm,” I say. “So did Dad… you know?”

  “Yeah,” Tristan answers. “He’s taking care of the body now.”

  I wonder what one does to “take care” of a dead body.

  “Does that mean Damon can come back to school?” I ask.

  “Yes. Your dad will be getting on a plane back to Russia soon. As soon as we know he’s on the plane, we will be bringing the president’s son back to campus,” Tristan says, in a professional tone.

  I look over at him. “You shouldn’t be so formal with him. He likes it when people treat him normal.”

  “He’s not normal, Katerina,” he says. “Soon, you will see that.”

  Tristan stands up and gives me a hand to help me up.

  “Lets go get you some dry clothes.”

  I accept his help up, and we go back to the dorms.

  Maybe now, things will go back to normal.

  Well, as normal as things can get, considering.

  Spirit Friday.

  Since today is Friday, it’s school spirit day. I don’t have anything to wear, so Tristan gives me a orange hoodie that says New Hope Academy with a wildcat on the front. I guess our mascot is a wildcat. The hoodie is a little big on me, but it’s warm. I’m still cold from my jump in the lake.

  I can still go to the last half of my classes, but before I do, I go to meet my father to say goodbye. Tristan won’t let me go alone, not that I blame him. Part of me is sad to see my dad go back to Russia. Things are different now and they won’t ever be the same.

  “I’m going to miss you,” I tell my dad, speaking Russian.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to Russia with me?” he asks.

  I’ve wanted that for so
long. But now, things are different. How can I go back now?

  “No. I want to stay here. With my friends,” I say, stepping closer to Tristan. “Americans aren’t as bad as you think. I mean, their food totally sucks, but they’re kind of nice. I’m glad you sent me here.”

  “Katerina, you know now that I’m not an engineer, but you can’t say anything to anybody,” he says, then glances at Tristan. “Not even him. Don’t trust anybody. If you tell, your life could be in grave danger. Some things, even I can’t save you from.”

  “Okay, Dad,” I say. “Are you ever going to tell mum?”

  He shakes his head. “Your mother is a good woman. You are so much like her.” Dad steps closer to me. “You are beautiful, Katerina. Don’t ever forget it. And your heart is pure. Don’t let circumstances change you.”

  “I won’t. I love you, Dad.”

  “Love you, too,” he says, pulling me in for a hug.

  He kisses the top of my head before he pulls back.

  “Goodbye, Katerina,” he says, switching to English. He looks at Tristan. “Keep my daughter safe. If you break her heart, I will break you.”

  “Yes, sir. I understand,” Tristan says.

  We watch my dad get into the back of a town car and leave.

  “I’m going to miss him,” I tell Tristan. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do.”

  “Trust me, Katerina, I understand,” he says. “Sometimes you can’t help but love your family, no matter how much of a monster they are.”

  “He did come to save me.”

  “Yes, he did,” Tristan says.

  “Maybe he’s not all bad.”

  “Or maybe you’re his weakness,” he says.

  Maybe.

  Or maybe there really is some good in my dad.

  Tristan’s phone goes off.

  “Damon is getting on a plane now, coming back to the states. He should be back in time for the dance,” he tells me.

  My first American homecoming dance.

  Wait. I don’t have a dress. What am I going to wear?

  Episode three, Fame, is coming soon!

  Letter from Scarlett

  Hey! Thank you so much for reading Luck. Really, THANK YOU. Because if you’re reading this, then it means that you read my debut novel, Fate, and liked it enough to pick up this one. I hope you continue to enjoy this series, because I have a lot of stuff planned for these characters!

  If you did enjoy this book, it would mean a lot to me if you left a review wherever you picked this up.

  For more information on this series, be sure to check out my blog https://scarletthaven.wordpress.com!

  —Scarlett Haven

  More books by Scarlett

  New Hope Academy Series:

  Luck (Episode 1)

  Fate (Episode 2)

  Fame (Episode 3 — coming soon!)

  Find me online.

  Blog: https://scarletthaven.wordpress.com

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scarlett_Haven

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorScarlettHaven/

  Acknowledgments.

  First… always first… I want to thank JESUS. My savior. My God. My everything.

  My husband, for always being so supportive of me and understanding when I speak about my characters like they’re real. Sorry that I talk in a fake British accent so much. ;)

  Mummy and Daddy, thanks for the awesome genes that made me the weirdo I am today.

  And YOU. The person reading this book. For liking book one enough to pick up book two. I’m so excited for the future of these characters and hope you are too!

  —Scarlett